How to Create an Effective Team Working Agreement

Have you ever been part of a team where miscommunication or unclear expectations caused unnecessary tension? Or perhaps you’ve experienced a team where collaboration felt effortless because everyone was on the same page. What makes the difference? Often, it comes down to having a clear and actionable team working agreement.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create a team working agreement step by step and explain why it’s essential for effective collaboration. By the end, you’ll have a framework to align your team around shared expectations, boost communication, and prevent conflict.

What Is a Team Working Agreement (and Why Should You Care)?

A team working agreement is a set of guidelines that a team collectively creates to define how they will work together. These agreements typically cover areas like communication, decision-making, accountability, and conflict resolution.

Why Is It Important?

1. Clear Expectations: Everyone understands what’s expected of them, reducing ambiguity.
2. Better Communication: Agreed-upon channels and norms streamline information sharing.
3. Conflict Prevention: Proactively addresses potential areas of friction before they escalate.
4. Stronger Team Bond: When everyone has a say, it fosters trust and ownership.

By investing time in creating a team working agreement, you’re setting the foundation for smoother collaboration and long-term success.

How to Create a Team Working Agreement in 7 Steps

1. Bring the Team Together

Why: Collaboration works best when everyone has a voice.

• • Schedule a meeting with all team members to ensure inclusivity.
  • Create a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas. (
  • Want to learn more about effective facilitation and how to plan for more valuable sessions? Click here

2. Discuss Core Values and Principles

Why: Teams that align on values are more cohesive and motivated.

• • Brainstorm team values like respect, transparency, and trust. I love using the Big Values List from management 3.0 to help me come up with ideas.
  • Ask: What behaviours would help us know we’re following our values?
  • It’s important not to just have abstract examples like “We show respect when we’re honest.” Instead, aim for more practical ones like “We show respect when we’re honest even when it’s hard. We share feedback openly and directly with care.”

3. Identify Key Areas to Address

Why: A focused agreement ensures no critical aspect is overlooked.

• • Then, ask the team to contribute ideas for areas they would like covered in the agreement sharing common areas to seed the conversation. These common areas include:
    • Communication (e.g., meeting frequency, tools)
    • Decision-making processes
    • Conflict resolution strategies
    • Accountability and responsibilities
  • Create space for areas on posters, if in person, or on a digital whiteboard like Miro to keep track of team contributions and identify agreed-upon area names.

4. Brainstorm Specific Guidelines

Why: Actionable rules help prevent misinterpretation.

• • For each area, ask the team to brainwrite answers to the following question: How can we ensure this works effectively for us?
  • Example: “All team decisions will be documented in our shared workspace.”

5. Draft the Team Working Agreement Together

Why: A collaborative draft ensures buy-in from the entire team.

• • Have the team summarize the brainstormed points into a single document.
  • Keep the language simple, specific, and easy to understand.
  • Ask guiding questions to prevent misinterpretation. Examples include:
    • “How would we know that we’re following this agreement?”
    • “How would we know that we’re not following this agreement?”
    • “What will we do when it’s not being followed?”

6. Review and Refine

Why: Feedback ensures the agreement reflects everyone’s input.

• • After the initial session, share the draft and ask: Does this feel fair and achievable?
  • Revise based on feedback until there’s consensus or at least consent, i.e. no one says “no”.

7. Share and Commit

Why: Visibility reinforces accountability.

• • Distribute the final agreement to all team members.
  • Consider having everyone sign it as a symbol of commitment.

Why Regularly Revisit Your Agreement?

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

– The Agile Manifesto Principles

Teams evolve, and so should your working agreement. While these working agreements can be updated at any time as the team agrees, it is highly recommended to also schedule dedicated working agreement reviews (e.g., at least every quarter) to:

• Adapt to new challenges or changes in the team dynamic.
• Address areas that aren’t working as intended.
• Reinforce commitment to agreed-upon principles.

Sample Team Working Agreement

Here’s an example to get you started:

Communication:

• Daily Scrum at 9:00 AM to discuss progress and blockers.
• Use Teams for quick questions, email for formal updates, and WhatsApp for memes.

Decision-Making:

• Decisions are made by consent. Any disagreements should be heard and acknowledged, and a mitigation concession should be created. If unresolved, the team lead will decide.

Conflict Resolution:

• Address conflicts directly and respectfully. If unresolved, involve a neutral mediator.
• When a conflict arises, and emotions are heightened, we will step away for 20 minutes and then revisit what happened with curiosity.

Meetings:

• All meeting invites will include a purpose statement, a brief summary of ideal outcomes, and a high-level agenda.
• All meetings will have an agenda sent 24 hours in advance.
• All meetings requiring pre-reading will have relevant links or documents shared at least 48 hours in advance.
• Meetings start and end on time; action items are assigned during the meeting and apply only to participants attending.

Accountability:

• Team members will communicate delays in advance.
• We hold each other accountable in a supportive manner.

Final Thoughts: Why a Team Working Agreement Is Worth Your Time

By creating a team working agreement, you’re not just defining how the team works—you’re building a framework for trust, collaboration, and success. Whether you’re part of a new team or looking to improve dynamics in an existing one, this exercise pays off in more precise communication, reduced conflict, and a stronger sense of shared purpose.

Start creating your team working agreement today—and watch your team thrive.

Additional Links:

https://resources.scrumalliance.org/Article/facilitate-powerful-working-agreements

https://resources.scrumalliance.org/course-data/course-16/index.html#/

https://www.scrum.org/resources/creating-team-working-agreement